Pages

Friday, September 02, 2011

Fall is Approaching - The Fall 2011 Vogue Knitting Arrives and More

The new Fall issue of Vogue Knitting is out. What a beautiful collection of patterns. Here's a Fair Isle design I did for their black and white story. Isn't this shot gorgeous? I just want to be there on those rocks with that walking stick looking out to the sea!

The pullover was knit in Rowan's Creative Focus Wool/Alpaca. Kind of funny VK asked me to do a black and white sweater, don't you think? The whole time I was swatching the lovely single ply yarn, I kept thinking about how gorgeous it would be in a real color combination. Lots of times, I have to design what the magazine wants and so I keep my mouth shut and swatch on. I knew Trisha would get a good photo of it but I kept thinking about colors.

After I sent the sweater in, I couldn't help but voice my color-starved opinions to VK. And lo and behold, they asked me to write down my thoughts for an article for the Fall issue. Then push came to shove and Doreen sold too many ad pages. My article got moved to their website. Actually, that's a good thing because now I can reference it forever here on my blog. Read my COLOR YOUR KNITS article here.

I always anticipate the arrival of the new fall knitting magazines in the mailbox. Vogue Knitting, Knitters, Interweave Knits...... love them all. I know that so many magazines are going digital now but there really is no substitute for going to the mailbox and actually lifting a plastic wrapped glossy magazine from my actual mailbox, not my virtual one. Thank goodness the physical magazine business model still seems to be working for the knitting magazines. Fingers crossed.

So today, I open up the comments section to all of you.... What do you think about paper magazines and virtual magazines (like Knitty, Petite Purls, Twist Collective, Knit Circus). I know there are many more virtual magazines out there. If you know of one I might be interested in, leave it in the comments. Thanks. Which do you prefer? Paper or Virtual.

FYI..... Last weekend for the discount on my new Kristin's Creative Christmas Stocking Pattern. See this post.

And lastly, CONGRATULATIONS to Clara Parkes on the 11th Anniversary of Knitter's Review! What a wonderful addition Clara has been to the yarn business, don't you think??? I don't know Clara well at all but I have met her a couple times at TNNA. I admire what she does from afar and look forward to her weekly newsletter every Thursday a.m. Write on Clara!

26 comments:

Crayons. I love crayons. Passionately. I collect big boxes of crayolas. The smell, the colors. Well, I could go on and on, but on to magazines.

I actually hate sitting in front of a computer so I much prefer paper magazines (and books.) To anticipate their arrival, to find them in my mailbox and later, stashed in some surprising place where I open them and inhale those pictures again and again. And do it at a leisurely pace. Somehow, sitting down with a cup of tea and the computer is not nearly as relaxing as sitting down with a magazine. May they never go away.

I agree! I want to be on those rocks (wearing your sweater) too! Beautiful photo. That's some really really big hair, i'nit? Your color swatches are beautiful too. Must admit: I'm not much of a swatcher, but I have landed on some of those same combos. As for paper mags vs. online: call me old-fashioned, but at this point, I really love that mailbox experience too. I'm a library cataloger, and I spend all day in front of a computer. I relish time spent with a book or magazine in my lap.

I love print magazines for the anticipation, the surprise of turning each page, the feel of the paper and the beautiful photography and presentation. But I love that most all patterns (even from the magazine) are catalogued on Ravelry so that I don't have to search back through piles of issues to try to remember where I saw something I liked. I also enjoy the online magazines--I think KnitCircus has some of the best knitting reading (not just patterns) available. Guess I'd vote for print though if I had to (full disclosure: I also work at a crafting print magazine so I'm a little biased).

I love my iPad and my MacBook but I'm a print girl at heart. Nothing like reading the latest copy of a knitting magazine while enjoying a tomato and basil sandwich for lunch in August.

I didn't realize you had designed that sweater! It was one of the only ones in the issue I thought I would consider making and wearing! I'll be sure to read your colorizing article online.

I do admit that I spent quite a bit of time this week trying to learn the new knitting app called "Knit Companion." It will be a great way to read/use patterns. I love my magazines in print, but I think digital patterns are the way to go, with highlighting!

I live in a small house and don't have room for magazines, so I am glad there are digital options. In fact, I recently purchased a NookColor and wish more knitting magazines were available in Nook format. Then I would have the patterns with me wherever I go, especially when I go to LYSs.

I prefer paper. However, I bought back issues of Interweave Knits, and they've done a great job with their format. I own a Nook and love being able to throw that in my bag and know I've got books galore, so I will be willing to switch to digital magazines when I have to.

Wow - that is a beautiful sweater. Even black and white, I knew it was your design when I first saw it.

I love both print and on-line magazines. I wish more knitting magazines were available for my Nook. One thing I love about my Nook is that I can enlarge the printing and choose the font which makes it so much easier to read content. Sometimes I really want to read content in a printed magazine, but the design choices of background, font style and size while lovely, make it so difficult for me to see that I end of feeling frustrated. I love to be able to click through an ad to a website.

I also love print magazines and one thing I find is that I casually review them more often and sometimes a project is more appealing to me or seems more "do-able" to me on a subsequent review than my initial reaction - the design grows on me . . .

Ravelry, for me, has put it all together and made it all more accessible. I love Ravelry.

I'm still a print fan. Although I love all the emags and eagerly await their publication date I so enjoy the feel of the paper in my hands, and the pleasure of flipping through while lounging on the couch...Andf that's the true rub for me... I don't have internet access at home so I can't read emags at home even if I wanted to! Perhaps my opinion would change if I did?

When I first saw the picture of the sweater, I thought someone was trying to copy your design sense in black and white. Glad it was you!

I like both print and online patterns, but what I miss is the anticipation of seeing the designs in print. By the time the magazine comes in the mail, I've already seen previews on Ravelry or the IK or VK websites, and I sometimes don't even open the magazine.

IF I had a decent internet connection I might be a digital subscriber, but living in Western Mass you know that's not going to happen soon. I stick with print pretty much. I adore Knitty and the way they've pared down the patterns for printing. Those find their way to my digital collection of patterns (thanks to a free pdf program). Twist Collective is too difficult to manage on my computer. I honestly cannot find the hidden button sometimes to get to a pattern I like. Print is really hard to manage for space and I find myself hiding the magazines.

It's so hard to say! There is something very tactile and comforting about a paper magazine...and I also love being able to carry a pattern around on my phone or consult it quickly by searching my computer rather than ransacking my bookshelf.

I think folks like Gudrun Johnston and Ysolda Teague have a great idea in providing both print and digital backups. Each have their advantages.

And, as a journalism teacher, I must add: Paper is the only technology guaranteed to open in 20 years. What if all our patterns were locked up on Betamax cassettes or 8 tracks?

I will always favor a real magazine over a virtual one!! I can take it with me, carry it from room to room, go back a few pages, re-read the ads, etc. Unfortunately, I have become sensitive to all new magazines and papers. The ink makes my eyes burn and water so I have to let them "air out" a few days before reading them. Sometimes I'm so anxious to read them I just suck it up and deal with the problem but I will never give up the printed form in favor of virtual. The beautiful Ebooks that Interweave keeps bringing out are so tempting but I just pass them by.Your new sweater In VK is gorgeous, Kristen. I'm a big fan of color also but a little change of pace can be good ffor the soul too as we dream of the next colorful piece.

Print, no two ways about it. I call the magazine digital previews "Spoilers" (I am a big fan). With frequent power outages here, my stacks of print magazines are my life-line. Dana KBS is SO right about paper. I still have my very first copy of Knitter's, and can lay my hands on it in seconds! I had the sheets of plastic ready last Sunday in case Irene decided to drop in. Locally, she did her worst damage half an hour away over the mountain in Hancock & Rochester. Rt 7 thru Brandon finally re-opened yesterday.

I picked up Vogue last week and just got a chance to look through it. I recognized your design immediately. Love it. Virtual or paper? I like and use both.I have a stack of knitting magazines next to my bed and on coffee tables with sticky notes all over them. I would not like to see this format disappear. I think they are easier to read through from start to finish, which I always do. I find the virtual magazines take a little getting used to the navigation and it's more difficult to reference patterns or articles. On-line has given great opportunities to new designers and Ravelry does make it easy to reference the virtual patterns. So I think both have value.

Hi Kristin! I, too, love both print and online publications. I also started a small online publication earlier this year to focus on the artists who make and use handspun yarns -- it is called www.spinartiste.com

Your blog is fantastic and I always look forward to reading it when my subscription arrives!

I love the paper experience and keep every knitting magazine I purchase, but also love the digital option. I'm looking forward to an iPad in my future and my main reason for wanting one is to keep my patterns where they are accessible and easier to use (enlarge, highlight, etc.). I also want to keep digital copies of IK and other magazines as I'm running out of storage space - even though I already took over one son's room as a "fiber room" when he left for college three years ago.

Loved your color article -- I thought you might even go for more than two colors in that gorgeous sweater!

It's weird but I actually like them both. I subscribe to Interweave Knits and it's a thrill when it arrives in the mail--sort of an unexpected treat--but I also really enjoy reading Knitty and the Twist Collective and other online magazines when they come out, and I really like being able to browse back through archives of patterns when I'm looking for something. Ravelry makes this really easy even when (as with TC) there isn't a good pattern search feature. I'd really like it best if all magazines were published in both formats, since we use them in such different ways.

I like both print and emag. I get Knitter's, IK and Vogue in paper and The Knitter and entangled online at Zinio for iPad. Super fun to see all these different formats. Knitty is the best as is TC and knitcircus. When do we knit with all this good stuff to read? ;) teasing. I haven't figured out how to use the iPad for a pattern yet so still printing on paper. Baby steps.

Kristin's Pottery, Oil Paintings, and Lampshades on Etsy

Follow Me on Bloglovin

"Like Me" on Facebook

Follow Me on Pinterest

Our Farm Webpage!

Leyden Glen Farm

Copyright Kristin Nicholas 2006 - 2016

All words and photos are copyright by Kristin Nicholas. Please do not use my original photos or reprint my writing without asking me for permission. Please make sure you credit me as Photographer and link back to this blog. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to e-mail me - my contact info is on the left sidebar. Thank you!